Hey everyone, thought I would quickly post an update on what’s been happening recently.

As you may be aware, NintyBuzz has been pretty quiet over the past couple weeks, and this time with good explanation funnily enough. Towards the end of September, I happened to be a victim of fraud, which temporarily froze my cards, which meant I couldn’t renew my hosting costs. This led to NintyBuzz going down for a few days. Turns out, the reseller I was with also wasn’t able to pay their hosting costs and they seemed to not be responding to my emails and messages, so I then ended up paying the actual hosting company to extend it by a month.

Once we got back online however, all of a sudden I was completely blocked out from NintyBuzz, the only way I could access the site was pretty much at my local Starbucks. So I started to look for a new hosting company, bearing in mind I was also stressing out to the fact that I am having some pretty bad money issues at the moment, and my depression has been through the roof. I found a new host however, who are pretty cheap and seemed suitable for NintyBuzz at this time. Of course, I ended up running into various frustrations when transferring everything over (to be frank, SQL is pretty awful when it breaks).

The good news however, we are finally back online. Though I am getting fairly busy with university work, I am going to try my best to bring us back up to date, starting with dropping a couple of reviews I wrote locally over the weekend.

Unfortunately this means that I will have to postpone the Splatoon 2 Tournament until a later date when I have a more stable income, I deeply apologise for this.

I would, however, like to give a massive thanks to all those who have supported me recently, even if it’s just positive words, you do not realise how much it helps when motivation is at a minimum. I would also love to thank those at Nintendo and Pretty Green for being patient with us. And finally I would like to say thank you to all those who viewed our Super Mario Odyssey preview video, already it has gathered 10K views, which makes me happier than Happierre (there’s a hint for one of the reviews coming soon).

Hello buzzer’s, thought I’d quickly fill you all in with my recent weird activity. As you may have noticed, I was full on on the lead up to E3 and during the Nintendo E3 Spotlight, then all of a sudden I went quiet yet again.

Don’t worry (I’m sure at least one of you s worrying), I haven’t been in some horrible accident or anything, I’ve just been rather busy. I was finishing up exams, and then I had to move out from student accommodation at the end of E3 week, which was quite busy, I had a few billing issues with my hoping provider (I’m very strapped for cash right now), then my grandmother also had a stroke last week so I needed to help support her with my family. I will also be on a research project with my University from the 29th June (tomorrow) to the 14th July, so there will be even more little activity from me during those weeks. Quite a hectic Summer if you ask me.

While I am here, I want to announce that I have a fun little giveaway planned to begin over the next few days, keep an eye on your inboxes as it will be announced in advance exclusively for newsletter subscribers, if you are a member of the forums and did no unsubscribe, you are already a subscriber. You will also be able to subscribe manually soon once I get the time to create the form.

I also have a sort of newish feature which I believe will be a bit exciting, as well as a few new editorials drafted in my head. Just need to finalise a few things, and plan things out properly before I roll it out.

Finally… we turned three only a couple days ago (about seven years forum-side). I would quickly like to thank each and every reader and member of the community who still visit to this very day. Without you guys and gals, I’d probably be breaking into people’s homes and breaking all there pots… while in my boxer shorts!

Now, before I go, even though I try to keep the begging to a minimum, money is running a bit in the red for what I can put towards NintyBuzz’s hosting, so I would greatly appreciate it if anyone would be able to donate a few quid here and there. I could put out more intrusive advertising, but let’s be honest, no-one wants constant pop-ups on every link you click. If you have any coins to spare, feel free to put them in the kitty by clicking here.

Just in time for second Christmas (aka E3) we at Nintybuzz have completely redesigned the site and forums for a much more modern look, including a smoother browsing experience. Not only that, but we have a brand new newsletter system in place rather than that archaic plain text one, which used to add strain on the server. Oh, now you can also subscribe and unsubscribe at any time too… no more sending me replies and then waiting a week to unsubscribe.

Most of the development for the new look has been completed, though there are still bits and pieces that may need to be fixed. So if you encounter any problems, do not worry too much, just let us know and we’ll try to fix it ASAP. Also, if you have any other general feedback on the site and forums, then feel free to send it our way.

I know I’m a bit late, but 2016 has finally finished, and 2017 is underway. 2016 has been a rollercoaster of a year. There’s been several controversial releases in gaming, such as Metroid Prime: Federation Force, No Man’s Sky, and Might No. 9. The year has also seen some pretty tragic events, such as the devastating bombings in Aleppo, the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando Florida, and the death of many beloved celebrities, including the recent Carrie Fischer, and George Michael.

Though 2016 has thrown some curveballs, the year has also had its positives, along with some wonderful moments in history. On the gaming side, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon Sun/Moon have seen very successful launches around the world. Hideo Kojima finally got his well deserved Game Award. We finally got a proper look at Breath of the Wild and the Nintendo Switch. VR is finally available to a widespread audience, and the developer of ‘That Dragon, Cancer’ was able to make an impact on gamers from his very heartfelt story.

Outside of gaming, the first monument for LGBT rights has been designated in the US, a new technique, called gene editing, which could be capable of eradicating the duplication of cancer cells, has been invented, after 50 years of war in Colombia, a peace treaty has been signed, and so much more. No matter what tragedies happen, it is always important to look at the positives and what we already have.

A big moment in NintyBuzz history was conceived soon before E3! NintyBuzz and 3DS Buzz forums united and merged, thus NintyBuzz Forums was born! Summer was topped off with our own celebration of 30 years of Metroid in our special Retrospective video. I hit a bit of a roadblock being busy at uni, with a dash of personal issues. This caused activity to approach a lull for a few months. This soon rectified itself with the reveal trailer of the Nintendo Switch! Soon before the year ended, we received an invite to try out the Nintendo Switch on the 13th January 2017! Finally, the NintyBuzz Awards 2016 launches with some new categories, a new Nomination stage, and a bigger prize for one lucky winner! We have definitely had an eventful year at NBHQ!

It looks like we will be getting a lot in 2017. The biggest thing to look forward to in 2017 is the release of the Nintendo Switch! There are many other things to look forward to in 2017 too, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a brand new 3D Mario game, Yooka-Laylee, and so much more.

I hope everyone who has survived 2016 has a fantastic 2017. I would like to thank everyone in the community for just being awesome. Without you all, NintyBuzz would not be where it is today, and I hope we can all help NintyBuzz grow even more in 2017. Before I go, I have some questions to ask you all…

What were your fondest memories of 2016? What are you looking forward to in 2017? Do you have any words of wisdom for surviving the next 12 months?

Those of you who have been on the forums since the beginning of 3DS Buzz may remember a special event we would hold from time to time called 3DS Buzz Game Days. Well, I have some exciting news, Game Days is making a return next week!

For those not in the know, Game Days are organised days where the community plays a bunch of games online together. Anyone is able to participate at any time during the session, and it isn’t anything competitive, it’s just so that we are all able to have a bit of fun without worrying about ranks and whatnot. It’s also perfect for those who are a bit nervous about playing online, I still find it daunting with some titles, especially in games like Super Smash Bros., which I am horrible at against competent opponents.

3DS Buzz started way back in 2010, where you could keep up with all the latest 3DS news and talk about Nintendo’s latest handheld wonder and more. For the past six years (well, just under), the site grew a bustling community, and though it has gone quiet more recently, it’s still full of great people. There have been highs and lows, but it truly was a remarkable online experience, and probably one of the closest communities on the web I have ever been in.

Today, I am happy to announce that 3DS Buzz Forums has now got a brand new home here at NintyBuzz, and it will be renames NintyBuzz Forums funnily enough! Before we set off on our new adventure, I would like to take the chance to thank Adam for conceiving 3DS Buzz, one of the few sites I would visit daily. Without him, I probably would not be a writer today! I would also like to thank all the previous staff members for maintaining us crazy lot, though I really hope I see them again here!

Now, what’s going to happen? There’s a lot I have planned for the near future. I plan to really make an emphasis on user involvement for the blog, host new gaming tournaments, and much more. Some things may take a bit longer, but the worst of the waiting is now over.

Already, I have implemented plenty of new things. Firstly, you may have noticed that we have a brand new appearance for both NintyBuz and NintyBuzz Forums, which is also fully responsive for a range of different displays. I have also reorganised the forums a bit to keep it up to date. There are also dedicated sections for Tournaments and Rom Hacking. Finally, we have changed the service used for the shoutbox!

For those of you who are new to the place, I would like to welcome you all to the NintyBuzz Community, and I hope you are able to make plenty of new friends here, as well as participate in lots of discussions!

You can find a link to the forums in the navigation menu above, or just by going to www.nintybuzz.com/forum

It’s now nearly a month into the new year and it should hopefully be a good one for Nintendo with the 30th Anniversary of Zelda, the 20th for Pokémon, the unveiling of Nintendo NX, the new Nintendo accounts system, and so much more. I would first like to apologise for the inactivity over the past two months. I’m going to be honest, even though Christmas has been rather busy, I haven’t quite had the motivation to do much with NintyBuzz, but never fear, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to try and gain this motivation back, and in doing so, we have some exciting plans to enforce over the coming months.

Unfortunately, I’m not quite ready to discuss these plans quite yet as it all depends on some confirmations and whether I can find a new paying job; I recently quit my old one back in December for various reasons. Something I will divulge though is that I have some exciting new features, with the possibilities of some competitions, planned for the both Anniversary of Zelda. I hope for these to start next month.

I also plan on hosting some new tournaments in 2016, ones which I promise will work, I will admit that the Smash Bros. Tourney I started last year was poorly planned and it was more of an experiment, if anything.

That’s it for now, I hope everyone had a good Christmas and new year! Leon